Planet 51 [Blu-ray] [Blu-ray] (2010)

Opening scene a couple 'parking'girl:"I'm really not that kind of a girl."Boy: "Well I'm not the kind of a guy who would go with that kind of a girl."Girl: "Ah, that's so sweet...I think."Boy leaning in to kiss eachother: "There's nothing to be scared of."(Space ship appears they both scream and drive off)Girl: " I knew this would happen if the made out."Rated PG...not appropriate for my family.

I purchased this movie because last year, in second grade, my daughter suddenly became very afraid at the very thought of aliens. (There were a few kids in her class scaring the heck out of the rest.) After nearly a year of tip-toeing around the topic, the problem has gotten worse. So, I decided it is time to show her that aliens are only scary if she makes them scary. I have been hunting for every friendly/funny child version of aliens to be found.The first few minutes are the 'scariest' with an alien attack being depicted. (Scary being subjective, of course, since most eight-year-olds would have no issue with the scene.) After that, this movie started working its magic. It is funny and very entertaining, even my husband stayed for the whole thing (he takes the 'family' out of 'animated family film').Right from the start, Planet 51 jumps in and embraces all of our alien stereotypes and beliefs, having cleverly reversed the roles. I especially appreciated the subtle inferences (look for what we call a meteor shower). There are also many nods to other films, songs, and pop culture figures. These guys are living in the 50's, and the storyline is enhanced by that setting.Planet 51 defintely deserves favorable consideration if you are on the fence, wondering if it will be as entertaining as it looks like it should be.One thing - this item is supposed to be a 2-disc Blue Ray/DVD combo. It's not. There is a blue ray disc, and there is a second disc they call a DVD. The 'DVD' is a disc you can use to play the movie on your computer or play station. Even if that is okay by you, the 'DVD' feature needs a code to activate it and allow the download. The code expired in March of 2011. This explains the incredibly discounted price. You are not getting a combo pack. This is, effectively, just one disc - and do not purchase it unless you can play a blue ray.

Original, Fun and Hilarious AdventureJust got finished watching this movie and I REALLY ENJOYED IT. Maybe it's because I went in expecting to watch adecent movie after all the negative and plain hateful reviews I read before I bought it. The main reason I took a chance on this film was because it had an original story and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. It's full of laughs, a few touching moments and overall it's a great little adventure.If you pay attention to all the little details of this movie like the hidden tributes, the soundtrack and the voices behind the characters I think you'll really love it. From alien cars designed like a VW Vanagon, to throwbacks to ET and the Alien dog it's a fun adventure. And voices of The ROCK, Stiffler, Gary Oldman, John Cleese make a stellar cast.As for PQ the details are great, colors are bright and lighting is wonderful. The designers behind this movie are game animators with high attention to detail.As for the audio it's very well done. The voice levels are balanced throughout the movie, the surrounds are wellutilized (love the helicopters flying around), and the music was a perfect match.So if you have kids over say 7 and if you like Scifi you should own this movie, screw all the negative reviews;besides it is a kids movie after all.

'Planet 51' was the last thing showing at our local theatre that I hadn't already seen. The previews and lobby displays (mis)led me to believe it was just another throwaway kids' cartoon, full of forced cuteness, predictable gags, and cardboard characters; but I had time to kill and the ticket was at matinee price, so I finally went in. Am I ever glad I did!The obvious send-up of 1950s American culture is fun, and so is the shoe-on-the-other-foot twist of the human being viewed as the fearful alien menace, but if that's all a viewer takes away, he or she is missing a lot. There was plenty of unexpected satire that had me laughing out loud through much of the film. There is also a profound message that centering one's society around perpetual fear can cause more harm to a culture's core values than the thing being feared; however, the message very carefully doesn't get in the way of the humanity (alienity?) of the story.The music was well done and really enhanced the fun. Visually, I loved the film. Character design wasn't anything particularly special, but the look of the planet itself was gorgeous. This is a cartoon, after all, not an overblown CGI extravanganza like Avatar, so you shouldn't expect photorealistic rendering of every tiny detail. The beauty of this kind of artwork is in the imaginative forms and colors, the simplicity of shapes and lines that enhance the story, not overwhelm it.Actually, having brought the subject up, I suppose many comparisons and contrasts could be drawn that make Planet 51 a kind of Anti-Avatar. Here, the humans are neither conquering villains, nor paternalistic hero figures. People--er, beings--from both sides have to do their part on Planet 51 to bridge the misunderstanding of cultures and enable goodwill to prevail. That may not be the kind of dramatic plot it takes to engage some viewers' attention these days, yet it's exactly the sort of solid but gentle storytelling one should expect from the offspring of George Harrison's Handmade Films.Plus, so far as I can tell, no one has yet suffered depression after viewing Planet 51. :)

A rather wonderful idea of turning the tables on the alien invassion story. So humans become the aliens on a cute 50s designer alien home world. The planet's inhabitants have our historic fears and conspiracy theory projections about how alien humans exist to take over their planet and minds.Then, inevitably, the unexpected happens; an alien/human explorer lands gently in a perfectly manacured 50s front lawn of small town Rockville....This is when a perfectly well meaning set up and idea falls apart and all manner of daftness takes over and the fun is lost. (Unless you're 4-8 years old).Its all a parady on 50s-90s SiFi movies but with the foot in the other shoe. Or whatever.With some big names in movie and TV as the voices it would seem to attract a universal audience. I had high expectations. But it fell short.Nice animation. Great designs. Super mad. But lacks original substance except the overarching backdrop of us as the alien visitor.They even speak English on the alien home world. Which is actually well pointed out as a big non-surprise story point.2 stars for good animation.

When dvds were cool, I bought this, this is no longer the case, but the film is still good and seriously underrated.

My grandchildren love this when they come to visit - this was a replacement for a worn out DVD

This is definitely not on par with any of the Dreamworks, Pixar, Disney or Sony films and suffers from a dull story, lack of humour and unlikeable characters.I think it might be better for a younger audience but if you're an adult who enjoys animations then this probably isn't for you.

One of my son's favourite movies..we had it on DVD but it was glitchy and was pleased to see it on but ray ...withstands more abuse ..entertaining film for all ages.